You might remember Christmas in a Bowl. Layers of homemade brownies, white chocolate peppermint mousse, and dark chocolate pudding. It’s decadent, rich, and a must-have this time of year. But I’ve decided to extend the Christmas in a Bowl family. At 12:25 early yesterday afternoon, Christmas in a Cookie was born. The labor was quick. Much faster than Christmas in a Bowl. She’s tiny but packs a festive punch.

She may look a bit familiar as I based her off of her cousin—Salted Dark Chocolate Nutella Cookie. She lost her nutella filling, rightly so, and gained a white chocolate peppermint ganache. I think, if Christmas were a cookie, it would taste something like this.

Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass, about 2 1/4-inches in diameter, using flour on the bottom of the cup to prevent from sticking. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 12 up on a sheet leaving 1-inch space between each cookie. Minor spreading will occur.

Bake for 7 minutes. Cool for 1 minute on baking sheet and carefully transfer to a cooling rack.

Allow to cool completely.

Make ganache. Add white chocolate chips, peppermints, and butter to a heat proof bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering.

Pour over chocolate chip mixture and whisk until combined. Allow to cool and thicken, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

Spread ganache over half of the cookies. Sprinkle with additional peppermints. Top with cookie. Store in an airtight container. Cookies are best after resting overnight. The ganache softens them up nicely.

Notes

• White chocolate can be finicky. If it doesn't melt completely, add mixture back into the saucepan and continue to heat.

• Small candy cane crush the easiest. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to crush.

• To speed up the ganache cooling process, set over a bowl of ice water.

These look amazing. I love your use of personification when referring to these cookies and other creations (i.e: christmas in a bowl). It truly does seem as if these cookies were born and started to live a life of their own.

Hi Melissa…. I work with your Dad…. I just watched your segment on Connecticut Style!! You did a GREAT job!!! You’re so darn CUTE!! Keep up the great work!!! I definitely want to try these cookies!! (and your cranberry sauce too!!)

Sweet idea! Also your other related posts seem great for Xmas!
I found my inspiration on this little app, where you can find new christmasy recipes every day and I can not decide yet, what exactly I am going to cook….
x K

I decided to make these for a cookie exchange
..currently waiting for my ganache to cool. Wondering if I didn’t get it hot enough or maybe the peppermint pieces weren’t small enough because they aren’t fully melting into the ganache. Still super excited about them though!

It was the peppermint not the white chocolate that wasn’t melting but all seemed find in the end! I put the ganache in the fridge overnight because it wasn’t cooling fast enough and I wanted to get to bed!!!!! Put them together this morning and they’re ready to be exchanged this afternoon! A little drippy on the ganache but I tasted one (I couldn’t give away the broken one ) and it was yummy! Thanks for this recipe. I think I’ll be making Christmas in a bowl for a party in January.

Do you think I can save the ganache? I made a double batch since I made double the cookie dough and have a TON left. Would it keep in the fridge for a while?

You can totally save the ganache. I kept it out on my counter for a week. It would for sure save longer in the fridge. And the peppermint pieces don’t all melt. It gives a nice little crunch although it softens the longer it sits.